美国国家公共电台 NPR--U.S. fines airlines $7.5 million and they must refund customers for canceled flights

U.S. fines airlines $7.5 million and they must refund¹ customers for canceled flights

Transcript²

The Department of Transportation is cracking down on airlines that refuse to give customers refunds³ for canceled flights.

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg on Monday announced that the department is assessing fines totaling $7.5 million against six airlines, and the DOT is ordering those airlines to pay $600 million in refunds to hundreds of thousands of customers who had been denied them.

"When a flight gets canceled, passengers seeking refunds should be paid back promptly⁴," Buttigieg said. "Whenever that doesn't happen, we will act to hold airlines accountable on behalf of American travelers and get passengers their money back."

"A flight cancellation⁵ is frustrating⁶ enough and you shouldn't also have to haggle⁷ or wait months to get your refund," he said.

Airlines are required to pay customers refunds when a flight is canceled for any reason, but often, in an effort to keep the cash, many airlines offer vouchers⁸ or credit for future travel instead of a refund.

Airlines' refusal to give passengers their money back has become a huge source of consumer complaints, especially during the early days of the pandemic when almost no one was flying.

Bill McGee, an aviation consumer advocate with the American Economic Liberties Project, cites data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics showing that complaints filed against airlines for refusing to provide refunds soared in 2020 to more than 89,000, up 57 times from just about 1,500 in 2019.

"It's really unprecedented," McGee says. "We've never seen anything like it."

Buttigieg says DOT will make sure that refunds are available and processed promptly

One big problem was that would-be travelers often canceled their plans because of the pandemic and the significant travel restrictions⁹ in place, but the airline wouldn't cancel the flight until the last minute. In those instances, airlines usually were not required to offer refunds, but many did offer vouchers or credit for future travel instead. But those vouchers and credits often expired before some people were able to or felt comfortable traveling again.

And delays, cancellations and significant changes to flight schedules has become a significant problem this year, as airlines initially¹⁰ scheduled more flights than they had the staff to operate.

Buttigieg says airline operations have improved in recent months after a horrendous¹¹ summer of flight disruptions.

"But still, flights do get canceled. And when that happens, DOT will be here to make sure that a refund is available and that it's processed as promptly as possible, that we're going to have people's backs when they experience a disruption," Buttigieg told reporters in a news conference over Zoom¹² Monday.

But consumer advocate Bill McGee isn't so sure. While he says these enforcement actions are a small step in the right direction, "It's really too little and too late. The fact is, the biggest offenders¹³ here don't seem to be addressed."

He notes that one only relatively¹⁴ small U.S. carrier, Frontier, is being punished, along with five foreign carriers (six if you include Air Canada, which was fined by the DOT last year). And he agrees that Frontier "is one of the worst offenders."

"Why is it that none of these other airlines have been fined?"

But he says consumers filed thousands of complaints against United, Delta¹⁵, American and other airlines over their refusal to provide refunds.

"Why is it that none of these other airlines have been fined?" McGee asks. "And why is it taking so long ... why is it taking (almost) three years to investigate this, particularly since all the data is public?"

"Airlines that brazenly¹⁶ skirt the rules deserve to be fined, but this latest round of enforcement from the USDOT comes almost three years too late and leaves out the most egregious¹⁷ U.S. offenders," McGee says.

The airlines facing fines include just one U.S.-based carrier, Frontier, which has been forced to pay $222 million in refunds and a $2.2 million fine. But in a statement, Frontier says it will pay just $1 million out of pocket, after having received a $1.2 million goodwill¹⁸ refund credit.

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The other airlines subject to Monday's enforcement action are:

Air India – $121.5 million in required refunds paid and a $1.4 million penalty

? TAP Air Portugal – $126.5 million in required refunds paid and a $1.1 million penalty

? Aeromexico – $13.6 million in required refunds paid and a $900,000 penalty

? El Al – $61.9 million in required refunds paid and a $900,000 penalty

? Avianca – $76.8 million in required refunds paid and a $750,000 penalty

All of the consent orders are available at www.regulations.gov, docket No. DOT-OST-2022-

0001.

The department has also proposed stricter rules on airline customer refunds.

According to the DOT, consumers can file air travel consumer complaints online or by voicemail at [phone].

1 refund   

v.退还，偿还；n.归还，偿还额，退款

参考例句：

• They demand a refund on unsatisfactory goods.他们对不满意的货品要求退款。
• We'll refund your money if you aren't satisfied.你若不满意，我们愿意退款给你。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 refunds   

n.归还，偿还额，退款( refund的名词复数 )v.归还，退还( refund的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Tomorrow he would return them to the store and claim refunds. 明天他要把它们退还给商店并要求退款。 来自辞典例句
• The new method means that taxpayers get refunds much faster. 这种新办法意味着纳税人可以较快地领到退还款。 来自辞典例句

4 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

5 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

6 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 haggle   

vi.讨价还价，争论不休

参考例句：

• In many countries you have to haggle before you buy anything.在许多国家里买东西之前都得讨价还价。
• If you haggle over the price,they might give you discount.你讲讲价，他们可能会把价钱降低。

8 vouchers   

n.凭证( voucher的名词复数 )；证人；证件；收据

参考例句：

• These vouchers are redeemable against any future purchase. 这些优惠券将来购物均可使用。
• This time we were given free vouchers to spend the night in a nearby hotel. 这一次我们得到了在附近一家旅馆入住的免费券。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）

9 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

10 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

11 horrendous   

adj.可怕的，令人惊惧的

参考例句：

• He described it as the most horrendous experience of his life.他形容这是自己一生中最可怕的经历。
• The mining industry in China has a horrendous safety record.中国的煤矿工业具有令人不安的安全记录。

12 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

13 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

14 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

15 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

16 brazenly   

adv.厚颜无耻地；厚脸皮地肆无忌惮地

参考例句：

• How dare he distort the facts so brazenly! 他怎么敢如此肆无忌惮地歪曲事实！ 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• "I don't know," he answered, looking her brazenly over. “我也不知道，"他厚颜无耻地打量着她。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

17 egregious   

adj.非常的，过分的

参考例句：

• When it comes to blatant lies,there are none more egregious than budget figures.谈到公众谎言，没有比预算数字更令人震惊的。
• What an egregious example was here!现摆着一个多么触目惊心的例子啊。

18 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。